1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to composite articles formed from interlaced stretch-resistant flexible strand material impregnated with a rigid material and to the method of making such articles.
2. Description Of Prior Art
Typical prior art composite articles generally comprise a honeycomb sandwich construction having a honeycomb core formed of a metal foil such as aluminum or aluminum alloys laminated between a pair of inner adhesive sheets and outer face sheets. Such laminated sandwich structures have the disadvantage of being subject to delamination when subjected to interlaminar stresses such as shear or tensile stresses. Delamination results in weakening of such laminate structures.
Accordingly, a principal desirable object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved composite article of manufacture which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art comprising layers of interlaced stretch-resistant flexible strand material impregnated with a rigid cured thermosetting resinous material and held in spaced relation from each other by a plurality of partitions disposed between the layers and dividing the space between the layers into a plurality of channels, the partitions being formed of stretch-resistant strand material impregnated with the same rigid resinous material.
Another desirable object of the present invention is to provide an article of manufacture having a high strength to weight ratio and improved compression loading.
Another desirable object of the present invention is to provide an article of manufacture having a high damage tolerance.
Another desirable object of the present invention is to provide a composite structure having improved resistance to shear and tensile stresses.
Another desirable object of the present invention is to provide a composite structure which is readily adaptable to form an integral part of articles which require high strength to weight ratios.
Another desirable object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method of producing such articles of manufacture.
A still further desirable object of the present invention is to achieve the above desirable objects with an essentially simple structure, lending itself to inexpensive mass-production.
These and other desirable objects of the invention will in part appear hereinafter and will in part become apparent after consideration of the specification with reference to the accompanying drawings and the claims.